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Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus vs. Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra: Camera clash

Prakhar Khanna
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The budget segment is getting more competitive with each passing day in Europe and Asia due to the presence of Chinese brands. Xiaomi’s Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus is the latest entrant in the Note lineup, which is known for providing high-end features on a budget. The latest phone is no different. It packs a 120Hz AMOLED display, 108-megapixel camera, 67-watt fast charging and starts at approximately $237 (converted from Indian rupees).

But how good is the 108MP camera? Does it offer anything or is it just there to make the device look good on paper? To find out, I compared the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 108MP camera results with the industry-leading Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra‘s 108MP camera. In terms of pricing, it’s night and day. The Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra starts at $1,199, almost six times more than the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus.

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Here’s how the phones stack up against each other. (You are in for a few surprises.)

A quick note before we begin. All the pictures were taken in the 108MP camera mode of the Galaxy S22 Ultra and the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus. No accessory like a tripod or external lens was used, and all the images were handheld photos. OK, let’s go!

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Daylight

While it might look like the Redmi phone retained the sky color, the blue in real life was more like that captured on the Samsung smartphone. Both devices do well to capture the leaves of the trees, but zooming in shows that the S22 Ultra captured more details in the shadows. It is surprising how close the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus gets to the flagship device at a fraction of the price.

The daylight images are mostly easy to capture and all cameras nowadays do a pretty good job in well-lit environments. The tricky part is how the cameras perform in lowlight or at night. So I put the two 108MP cameras against each other to capture the nightlife in Delhi.

Nightlife (outdoors)

This is a tricky environment to capture a picture because of the lighting. The Galaxy S22 Ultra does well to expose the image, but it falls short on details. By contrast, the Redmi smartphone goes for less exposure with better sharpness, minimizing light flares from billboards as a result. However, it is a bit noisy and could have done a better job at exposing the building.

The two pictures of the building above are very close. While the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus manages to bring out the colors, it is slightly undersaturated. The image on the left (Galaxy S22 Ultra) is sharper and it brings out more details. Many people might prefer getting more colors in their nighttime pictures. If you are one of them, Samsung takes the cake here, with Redmi not being left far behind.

Nightlife (indoors)

Samsung overexposed the above image and washed out the red color on the Kings logo. On the other hand, the image from Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus’ 108MP camera retains real-life colors, while also capturing a sharper image with modest exposure. It could have better exposed the objects in the background. but the subject is what matters and Redmi is able to capture better colors here.

This is a 2x zoom shot in 108MP camera mode. Samsung continuously gave me shaky clicks. I admit that I have shaky hands, but the same hands captured the image on the right in the same time interval, and the result is totally different. The Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus beats the Galaxy S22 Ultra camera on reliability, while also capturing a good image of the lights. Although it could have been better exposed, I still got an image that I can post on social, unlike the Samsung counterpart.

Human subject

While capturing humans in 108MP mode, Samsung does a better job at retaining real-life colors, while the Redmi smartphone chooses a more contrast-focused look. You might prefer one over the other, but Samsung did a better job with colors and exposure here since the photo on the left is closer to real life.

Is the 108MP camera on the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus any good?

Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus camera module.
Prakhar Khanna/Digital Trends

Yes! At a fraction of the price, the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus 108MP camera offers solid competition to the flagship 108MP camera of the Galaxy S22 Ultra. Before putting both against each other, I wouldn’t have given Redmi a chance, but the results speak for themselves.

The Redmi smartphone’s 108MP camera not only comes close to Samsung, but beats it in certain lighting conditions and environments. While there is still room for improvement, the 108MP camera on the Redmi Note 11 Pro Plus is top class, especially considering the price point.

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